Door for a Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A door for a refrigerator comprises a door leaf and a dispensing unit for water and/or ice, this unit being introduced into the door leaf, as well as a supply channel, which runs from one edge of the door leaf to the dispensing unit. The supply channel has a groove which is recessed into the door leaf and extends between adjacent corners of the door leaf.

The present invention relates to a door for a refrigerator with a doorleaf and an output unit for water and/or ice arranged in the door leafas well as with a supply channel running from one edge of the door leafto the output unit.

Refrigerators which are used not only to keep chilled goods storedwithin them fresh but are also equipped with other additional devicessuch as ice makers or water dispensers are becoming ever morewidespread. In such cases it is especially practical for the water orice to be able to be delivered on the outside of the refrigerator. Tothis end a water or ice dispenser is arranged on the front of the doorfrom which the user can obtain ice or cooled water without having toopen the door.

The fact that the door does not have to be opened to remove water and/orice means not only that the user is provided with greater conveniencebut also that energy is saved. This is because opening the door allowswarm air to enter the interior which then has to be cooled down againonce the door is closed.

Such a refrigerator is for example known from DE 10 2004 013 431 A1.This refrigerator has a carcass and a door which delimit an interiorspace. A water dispenser is built into the front of the door. The waterdispenser is fed by a supply channel which runs from the carcass througha hinge in the door.

Since the door can optionally be closed to the right or to the left ontothe carcass, the guidance and laying of the supply line in the door ofthe refrigerator is especially problematic.

In DE 10 2004 013 431 A1 the guidance of the door-side channel isresolved as follows: The supply line is laid in a supply channel. To dothis two supply channels each in the form of pipes embedded intoinsulating foam of the door are provided in the refrigerator door, whicheach extend from the water dispenser to the corners of the door.Depending on the door closure side the supply line is laid in one of thetwo channels.

This method of constructing a refrigerator door requires expensivemanufacturing since the points at which the supply channels pass througha wall of the refrigerator door enclosing the layer of insulating foammust be securely sealed in order to prevent foam escaping from the bodyof the door when it is injected.

Changing the side on which the refrigerator door closes is also complexsince the supply line must be removed from one of the supply channelsand must be introduced into the other.

One object of the present invention is thus to provide a door with awater dispenser for a refrigerator which is characterized by beingsimple to manufacture and for which the closing side onto a carcass canbe altered in situ with a minimal outlay.

This is achieved in accordance with the invention by the supply channelhaving a groove recessed into the door leaf, extending between adjacentcorners of the door leaf. If the door closure side is to be changed itis sufficient for a supply line running in the groove to be turnedaround from one corner to the other.

A reduction in manufacturing outlay is also achieved by the supplychannel featuring a groove which extends from at least one corner of thedoor leaf to the output unit. The fact that the groove runs on thesurface of the door avoids a channel having to be made through the door.This means that there are no points at which the channel passes throughthe insulation layer of the wall which require expensive sealing.

In such cases it is advantageous for the supply channel to have aT-shaped course with a main stem running between the output unit and ahorizontal edge of the door and branches running along the horizontaledge. The result of this is that a large part of the supply channel isalways used regardless of the closure side of the door and only therelatively short part of the supply line which runs in the branches isrerouted depending on the door closure side.

Expediently the main stem runs vertically. This means that a shortconnecting path between the branches running along the horizontal edgeand the output unit is achieved.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the groove runs in av-shape above the output unit. The result of this is that the supplychannel can be designed to be short.

In a further embodiment of the invention the groove can be closed off bya cover. An aesthetically attractive surface of the door is achieved inthis way. In addition the insulating effect of a corresponding cover cancompensate for the lower insulating effect in the area of recessedgrooves.

In such cases it is useful for the cover to be latched so as to engagein the channel. The latching of the cover represents a cost-effectiveconnection between cover and door inner side. This connection can becreated and also removed both easily and quickly.

In an exemplary embodiment a supply line can be routed through the mainstem and one of the two branches.

Expediently the supply line is clipped into the stem. This represents asimple, detachable and cost-effective connection. In addition the stemcan be installed comparatively quickly in this way.

The inventive idea further provides for the channel to have curved sidewalls in a transition area between the stem and the branches. In thisway kinking of the supply line is avoided, which can especially beproblematic for a water line contained in the line.

Preferably the curved side walls have a radius of curvature of at least2 cm. This ensures that the radius of the water line is not less than acritical bending radius.

Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from thedescription of exemplary embodiments given below which refer to theenclosed figures.

The figures show:

FIG. 1 a schematic section through a refrigerator with a waterdispenser;

FIG. 2 a part view of the door of the refrigerator from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a sectional view of the door from FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 a schematic section through a second embodiment of a refrigeratorwith water dispenser;

FIG. 5 a part view of the door of the refrigerator from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 a part view of a first variant of the door from FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 a part view of a second variant of the door from FIG. 5;

The refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 in a schematic section has aheat-insulating carcass 1 and a door 2 which delimit an interior space3. In a central area of the door 2 is embodied a compartment 4, on theroof of which is arranged an outlet 5 for dispensing cooled drinkingwater into a container placed in the compartment 4. The outlet 5 isconnected via a supply line 9 to a water tank 8.

FIG. 2 shows a section of the door 2. The door 2 features a metal panel23 which forms the front side 24 and the side surfaces 25. A plasticpanel 26 forms the inner side of the door 2. Side edges of the panels 23and 26 are firmly connected to each other. A push-on profile 11 ispushed onto the upper edges of the metal panel 23 and the plastic panel26 and forms the upper side of the door 2. A corresponding push-onprofile not shown is fitted to the lower edges of the panels 23, 26. Themetal panel 23, the plastic panel 26 and the push-on profile 11 delimita cavity which is filled with heat-insulating polymer foam.

A pipe 16 extends out from the compartment 4 in the inside of the door 2perpendicularly upwards. The pipe 16 is surrounded by polymer foam. Itcomes out into a groove 10 which is provided in the push-on profile 11on the top edge of the door 2 and extends between two support socketsfor a door hinge which are arranged at the upper corners 21 of the door2. The pipe 16 and the groove 10 together form a supply channel which isprovided in order to accommodate a supply line, which includes the line9 (not shown in FIG. 2) as well as electrical cables where necessary.Such an electrical cable can for example extend from a switchaccommodated in the compartment 4 to a stop valve 29 accommodated in thecarcass on the line 9, in order to switch the latter on and off.

To avoid kinking of the line 9 in transition area 18 between the pipe 16and the groove 10, this transitional area 18 has rounded walls with abending radius of at least 2 cm.

FIG. 3 shows a section through the door 2 depicted in FIG. 2 along pipe16. This shows that the pipe 6 is accommodated sealed by foam into asocket 15 formed into the push-on profile 11. To be able to fix the line9 in the groove 10 a cover 28 is provided here which is latched into thegroove 10 and which closes off the groove 10 flush with the upper sideof the door 2. Alternately the line 9 could also be clipped into thegroove 10. The figure also shows that the push-on profile 11 featurestwo slots 12, with which it is pushed onto the inner panel 13 and theouter panel 14 respectively.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic section through a refrigerator in accordancewith a second embodiment of the invention. By contrast with therefrigerator shown in FIG. 1, the supply line 9 does not run within atube within the insulating foam but in a vertical groove 30 on the sideof the plastic panel 26 facing towards the interior 3 of therefrigerator from the upper edge of the door 2 down to the water tank 8.This is inserted into a recess of the plastic panel open to the interiorspace 3. The supply line 9 thus reaches the tank 8, without having topass through the insulating foam and there is no need for an expensiveseal.

FIG. 5 shows an upper area of the door 2 from FIG. 4 in detail. Theplastic panel 26 here features a large-surface protrusion 17 of narrowdepth which projects into the carcass 1 when the door 2 is closed, withupper side 19, side edges 31 and lower side of the protrusion 17 lyingdirectly opposite roof, side walls and floor of the carcass 1. Thegroove 30 extends up to the upper side 19 of the protrusion 17 and atthis point meets the groove 10 which extends to the upper corners 21 ofthe door 2 approx. centrally. The supply line 9 runs through right handpart of the groove 10. Both grooves 10 and 30 can be covered over with acover here, as shown in FIG. 3. Alternately the supply line 9 can beattached in the grooves 10, 30 by clipping.

FIG. 6 shows a variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. By contrastwith the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the groove 10 is not provided hereon the upper side 19 of the protrusion 17 but on the inner side 20 whichfaces towards the interior space 3 of the refrigerator. As in theembodiment shown in FIG. 4, the groove 10 extends to the upper corners21 of the door 2. So that a supply line 18 is held here in the supplychannel 9 and the groove 10 it is necessary to either provide a cover orto clip the supply line 18 into the supply channel 9 and the groove 10.Because the two grooves 10 and 30 are accommodated on the inner side 20of the protrusion 17, the door depicted in FIG. 6 is simpler tomanufacture.

FIG. 7 shows a further variant of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. Herethe horizontal groove 10 is arranged at the transition area between theinner side 20 and the upper side 19 of the projection 17. As in theembodiment depicted in FIG. 4, the groove 10 extends to the uppercorners 21 of the door 2. As with the variant shown in FIG. 5, a covercan be provided here so that the supply line 18 is enclosed in thesupply channel 9 and the groove 10. The cover can be glued for exampleto the upper side 19 and the inner side 20 adjacent to the groove 10.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. A door for a refrigerator with a door leaf and anoutput unit for water and/or ice inserted into the door leaf as well aswith a supply channel running from one edge of the door leaf to theoutput unit, characterized in that, the supply channel features a grooverecessed into the door leaf extending between adjacent corners of thedoor leaf.